30 August 2011

Subversive Bicycle Photos - New South Wales

Thanks to our reader, Tim, for sending us the above photo of Australian sheepshearers on their bicycles. The bicycle is credited rightly with improving the human gene pool in the way that it increased the mobility radius for people not only in cities but also in rural areas. After the invention of the bicycle and the subsequent bicycle boom in the late 1880's, family names that were previously rooted to specific towns or regions started showing up in the registries of (relatively) far-flung parishes in the UK. The same is true for rural America and Australia. The inexpensive independent mobility that the bicycle provided allowed men and women to travel farther further in the search for work and... well... TLC.

Anyway, this is a continuation of the Subversive Bicycle Photos series, showing the historical role that the bicycle played in cities and towns - in this case New South Wales, Australia. Important documentation on the journey to show that Bicycle Culture 2.0 is NOT dominated by sub-cultures but rather has the potential to be enjoyed by all citizens. As was the case in cities and towns around the world. In Cairns, Queensland, Canberra, Dublin, Vancouver, etc. etc.

NSW, Australia. June 1937. An explanation is probably needed:
"Tom Morris, who will attempt to skip from Sydney to Brisbane, via the Pacific Highway, will set out from the General Post Office at noon to-day. He has already skipped from Melbourne to Adelaide and back (1000 miles) and from Melbourne to Sydney in 28 days."
His friend on the left must be an early member of the Slow Bicycle Movement.

Man on bicycle pillioning boy. Bunaloo, NSW, Australia. "Pillioning". There's a word you don't hear every day. I'm assuming that means the boy is standing up. As opposed to that other Australianism, "dinking".

Kilometres cycled by Copenhageners so far today

Copenhagenize.com is the blog of Copenhagenize Design Company. Online since 2007 and highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen and around the world.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 41% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 56% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000 km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.